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Fugitive gangster James “Whitey’’ Bulger was kicked out of the US Air Force, but the FBI says he obtained a fake military identification card before he fled Boston and may be lurking around military bases.

The FBI placed an ad in the May 24 issue of The Military Times, featuring photos of Bulger, 80, and his girlfriend, Catherine Greig, 59, under the headline, “Have You Seen This Couple?’’

The advertisement says that Bulger and Greig have used numerous aliases and false identification documents and reveals that “a former cooperating witness previously provided Bulger with military identification.’’

It was the third time in recent months that the FBI has advertised in specialized publications in its hunt for Bulger, one of the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted.

Bulger served in the Air Force from 1949 to 1952, when he was dishonorably discharged after going AWOL and being charged with rapes in Montana and Boston.

Yet, according to the FBI, Bulger continues to have “a fascination with military history, historic sites and artifacts.’’

Gail Marcinkiewicz, a spokeswoman for the FBI’s Boston office, declined to provide details about Bulger’s military identification. She said the ad is part of a recent strategy by the FBI to make Bulger and Greig recognizable to people who may cross paths with them.

“We’re looking for avenues to have his picture reach worldwide,’’ said Marcinkiewicz, pointing out that US military personnel travel widely. She said the FBI’s Bulger ad appeared in all of the Military Times newsweeklies, which include Army Times, Navy Times, Air Force Times, and Marine Corps Times.

While Bulger’s affinity for military history prompted the most recent ad, Greig’s fastidiousness about her appearance recently led the bureau to alert dentists and plastic surgeons to be on the lookout for her.

The FBI posted an ad last month with photos of Greig, a certified dental hygienist, and Bulger in the Daily News, the American Dental Association’s newsletter, warning dentists to look out for the fugitives. The FBI said Greig has several porcelain dental crowns and likes to have her teeth cleaned once a month.

The FBI attracted international media attention with an ad it placed in the April-May edition of Plastic Surgery News, asking plastic surgeons if they had treated Greig, who had breast implants, liposuction, a face lift, and eyelid surgery before she fled, raising the possibility that she may have sought more work.

Bulger, a longtime FBI informant, fled before his January 1995 federal racketeering indictment in Boston and is wanted in 19 murders in the 1970s and 1980s. The FBI ia offering a $2 million reward for his capture.

A longtime former Bulger associate, who spoke on the condition he not be named, said he doubted the elderly Bulger would hang around military bases, but believes he is probably hiding in Europe. He said the Military Times ad indicates the FBI wants “to catch him before he dies.’’